1 ON THE INCONSISTENCY OF UNITARIANS IN SUPPORTING THE BIBLE SOCIETY. To the Editor of the Freethinking Christians' Magazine. SIR, WISH to appear in your valuable Magazine as an advocate for consistency, which is most glaringly violated in the conduct of those Unitarians who support the present Bible Society. I think an institution for promoting general knowledge throughout the known world laudable in a high degree, but there is no work that a man can set his hand to, of so noble a nature as the diffusion of Christian knowledge. A faithful history of the life and doctrines of Jesus is the best missionary that can be sent out; it will neither need a black coat or bishop's apron to set it off: 1 am persuaded that nothing can so effectually improve mankind as a rational, comprehensive, and a well-grounded belief in the gospel covenant. But, Mr. Editor, I wish to ask the serious Unitarian, what it is that can induce him to unite with the bigoted Trinitarians in this wonderful work-men who will not consent to promote the circulation of any other than the old version, which is partly composed of the most ridiculous fables that the mind can well imagine, or credulity assent to ? The champions among the Unitarians have deemed many parts of the present version as calculated to subvert the best principles of Jesus, and as certainly false as the word of God is true-not to mention that it contradicts the word of God, How then can the conscientious Unitarians join in promoting the spread of this lying version, especially as they have an improved one at hand?* Some of them make answer that in this respect they imitate that benevolent character Charles Fox, who did all the good he could, though he was not permitted to do all he wished; but there is a wide difference between doing all the good we can, and doing mischief; for mischievous in a high degree have the best Unitarian writers considered the many interpolations that are to be met with in the present version; and the principle of doing evil that good may come is of a dangerous and delicate nature. As a Unitarian, I feel sorry to see so large a number of the most enlightened men of the age (as the Unitarians certainly are) aid in disseminating those gross errors which our worthy * We would recommend Mr. Wakefield's translation as far superior to the version here alluded to, which in our opinion is highly objectionable, and unworthy of being distributed under the title of "The Improved Fersion."--EDITOR. leader Dr. Priestley says, tend to idolatry; such as the miraculous conception, &c.-1 shall be obliged to the Bible Society Unitarian to inform me, how he can reconcile his sending the present corrupt version, which is tainted with popery, into distant nations (as the true and genuine history of the birth, life, and doctrines, of Christ), with his zeal for the improved version, or with his love of truth. Your's, &c. Cambridge, Jan. 19, 1812. A UNITARIAN. ON THE ORIGINALITY OF A SONNET. To the Editor of the Freethinking Christians' Magazine. SIR, WHEN you requested of me an explanation respecting the originality of my SONNET, 1 readily complied; and in doing so, 1 certainly did not expect that 1 should have subjected myself to farther insidt. However weak or insufficient the language of that explanation, it was dictated by truth, and from the impulse of momentary indignation. It was a "plain unvarnished tale," and contained every explanation which 1 intend to make; and whatever is the motive of my opponenthowever base his insinuations, or uncandid, illiberal, and unmanly his assertions, and abusive scurrility, they cannot create in me any other sensations than contempt, and will consequently in future be passed over in silence.* 1 remain, &c. Southwark, Jan. 1812. FRANCES TAYLOR. * We have inserted the above letter, because we think it tends in a great measure to bring this original dispute to a termination. Here are two writers, who profess to be authors of the sonnet in question, with as much confidence on both sides as was evinced by the Israelitish mothers -each of whom claimed the living child as her own. We are not willing that our JUSTICE should be surpassed even by Solomon's WISDOM; and if we thought the claims of the contending parties were equal, we would willingly say, “divide the sonnet, and give half to the one and half to the other," but if we are to judge from the contest this sonnet has occasioned, we suppose the real poet would rather be deprived of his or her offspring altogether than suffer it to be mutilated or injured. What then must be the fate of this child of the Muses ?--we wish to restore it to its parent--surely there must be some register of its birth! The friend of Alphonzo has seen it in print "considerably antecedent" to its appearance in this Magazine; let him bring the first printed copy of it to the publisher's--if it has appeared before the public as long as four years ago, then it is Alphonzo's, Miss Taylor professing to have written it "nearly four years since." If Miss T. wishes to establish her claim, let her favour us with a sight of the first manuscript copy she has of the sonnet-if it has been written so long ago, it is probable it may bear some internal or circumstantial evidence to ascertain pretty nearly its date. As this method is straight and open to either of the parties, we cannot hold ourselves bound to insert any farther communications on the subject; but if DIVINE REVELATION-EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. To the Editor of the Freethinking Christians' Magazine. SIR, AS S Mr. Burdon has been twenty years in arriving at his present conclusions, and as he has given us his objections only to the precepts of Jesus, so ably and so satisfactorily answered, I conceive, to every unprejudiced mind, by G. G. F. in your number for December last, and by J. D. in January, I take leave, through the medium of your Magazine, to request of him his reasons for asserting that "there never was, nor never will be, such a thing as a divine revelation;" as also to state, as briefly as possible, his objections to the direct and positive evidences of Christianity. 1 remain, &c. Blackfriars, Jan. 1812. 66 W. I. "A minute investigation into the merits of education has an imperious claim on every one who exercises his reason before he pronounces his opinions; and such an investigation is doubly incumbent on the Reflector. He therefore solicits the attention of his readers, and should he either in this or in any of his future lucubrations, establish a false position, he requests them to banish every idea of forbearance, and publicly refute it; as experience has taught him that truth is a sacred emanation from the prolific source of free discussion."--Reflector, vol. i. p. 413. To the Editor of the Freethinking Christians' Magazine. SIR, [OW deceitful are words-how imposing is languagehow easy is it to round a sentence, or to express some excellent truth in a way which shall excite admiration in every breast, and yet the heart of the writer may feel no more of the force of the sentiment than the pen with which he writes! The air of candour which seemed to accompany the above and it rests in its present stage we are compelled somewhat reluctantly to givė it as our opinion-that, on the face of the thing, it certainly appears more probable that a person should affix his name to a sonnet not his own, which had been printed some time before in a work circulating among a different class of readers, than that any one should be so wantonly audacious as to snatch at the production of another, as his own, the moment it falls from the press.-Miss T. promised, that if it should be necessary, her friend should wait upon us, "and take upon himself the responsibility attached to the originality of her sonnet." Alphonzo has solemnly engaged to meet any person the lady might depute, at our office, or elsewhere. This would terminate the litigation; but now (if we can understand the above letter) Miss Taylor declines the interview--declines fulfilling the engagement which she herself at first proposed--and consequently declines the only means of establishing her honour." Infamy must attach somewhere."--EDITOR. cited paragraph, induced me to believe that its author was in reality a friend to truth, and that if ever he engaged in controversy, his only wish would be to convince or to be convinced. 1 differed materially with "the Reflector" on some important principles contained in his fourth paper; and, so differing, felt it both just and necessary to bring them into discussion, particularly when I considered the boldness of his assertions, and the confidence with which his opinions were advanced. Led on by the fair and specious shew of liberality, I acted agreeable to his advice-I banished every idea of forbearance, and attempted at once to refute those positions which appeared to be fallacious. As" the Reflector" thinks for himself, so 1 think for myself; and as he chooses his own manner of supporting his own sentiments, so I think 1 have an equal right to do the same. This right I assumed in my observations on his favourite position, that man is the slave of the passions ;" and how am I surprised to find the reception my argument has met with! Could I have anticipated any thing of the kind-could 1 have supposed that "the Reflector" had so much tenacity about him as to feel it a personal insult merely to dissent from his opinions-1 would have remained silent, rather than have been instrumental in making him betray his weakness or his pride. Perhaps prejudice, bigotry, and illiberality, can never appear more conspicuously contemptible, than when evinced by one who professes to censure and correct those foibles in others. It is truly pitiable to see a writer assuming the auspicious title of " the Reflector"--a name which implies coolness, deliberation, dignity, and candour-and yet at the same time manifesting, through long and successive pages, the very reverse of those qualities. For consistency sake, if these papers are to be continued in the same spirit as the last, let them pass under some other title-the Ranter-the Raver-the Declaimer-or any thing but-" the Reflector." It will be time enough for the writer to resume his title of Reflector, when reflection has re-assumed its seat: not that this misapplication of terms can deceive others so much as himself. When the Bedlamite fancies himself a monarch, we are not deceived; we have but one feeling of pity for his disordered imagination; and so when this writer styles himself "the Reflector," his readers must smile at the conceit, but at the same time lament the state of mind in which such a conceit could originate. When I contemplate the situation of" the Reflector" (for such we must call him, for distinction sake), I confess I never felt less inclined to take up my pen in my own defence-pity almost compels me to silence, for my antagonist has butted against me with so much violence that he has knocked himself down; and to treat him as he deserves, would appear like trampling on him. To pass by the infuriated Reflector unnoticed would be my choice, but as this might be construed into cowardice, I am reluctantly compelled to lift him from the earth, in order to throw him down again. From the pen of a writer who professes to be a reasoner, perhaps there has seldom appeared a more compleat farrago of paraphrastical bombast than this paper exhibits: pluck from it the gay plumage of words, and it is meagre in the extremethe texture of the argument is so open, that it will scarcely hang together to be examined-it has not even the merit of being sophistical; and the attempts to bewilder and confound the subject in dispute are so awkward, that I am content to let the merits of the question rest on the argument contained in my last letter. Assertion is contradicted by assertion-positions the most opposed to each other range together in the same paragraph-charges are made in one sentence to be destroyed in the next-the recommendations to candour follow the exhibitions of scurrility-some points are most laboured, because they have least to do with the subject; and others are rendered more obscure in the attempts to simplify them. Pointless wit, and ill-natured irony, run through the whole of the performance; and the writer has been at some pains to collect all the hackneyed insinuations, and common-place reflections, which have so often flourished through the heated pages of controversy, that their effect is no longer felt. To accuse an adversary with weakness, ignorance, or idiotism, has become too stale to excite contempt in his breast, or even to relax the risible muscles of his face-he considers these things as mere words of course, and when he is threatened with "silent contempt," he prepares to receive a long and clamorous reply. This curious performance opens with a very excellent exordium on the fate of writers in general, and the contracted spirit of controversy, "The Reflector" seems to indulge in a sort of soliloquy-apparently elevated above the gross atmosphere of ignorance, passion, and pride, he looks down like some superior being on all the little foibles of humanity, whose influence is incapable of being felt by his more exalted nature; but soon we behold Satan like lightning fall from heaven, for in the very next paragraph he commences the scurrility he had been censuring, and sinks into the littleness he had been lamenting. The writer is extremely unfortunate in tacking these preliminary observations to his paper, for that which is bad in itself is rendered more strikingly so by the force of contrastit reminds me of the picture in Bowles's window, of Life and Death contrasted: it is a female figure-one-half has all the |